The last leaf trembles on the plane-tree,
For it knows well that nothing is firm without trembling.
The leaf need not ask you, God, for anything,
You have endowed it with growth, and it did not fail.
But what about me?

This passage from one of Vladimír Holan’s poems may, to a certain degree, define the new work, titled Tremble, by Petr Zuska, which will receive its premiere at the National Theatre in Prague. The Artistic Director of the Czech National Ballet has chosen to base the piece on a remarkable subject and music alike. Set to the first movement and fragments from the second and third movements of Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, and several tracks from Jiří Pavlica’s album Tremble, recorded by the band Hradišťan, the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Altai Kai and Jumping Drums, the work’s content was inspired, among other things, by Vladimír Holan’s poem The Last Leaf, describing the intense feelings of a person living amidst the turbulence of the early 21st century.
“My new original dance-theatre piece, titled ‘Tremble’, is not a story, nor does it provide the answer. It is rather a symbolic image, a sort of poem without words. Yet its title clearly refers to a belief in the better. In the final analysis, the tremble is synonymous with life itself. Life with a capital ‘L’, which must be revered and, if need be, fought for … ”, says Petr Zuska of his choreography.

A co-production with the National Theatre Brno.
Approximate running time, including intermission: 1 hours, 30 minutes, one 20-minute intermission.